Condemned
by Kania09
Summary: My first fanfic. Elizabeth Reflects on the choice that she made, while Will trys to figure things out. James thinks about what lengths he went to to achieve what he wanted. DMC spoilers, rated M just in case.
1. Elizabeth

"I condemned him"

It came out as only a whisper, but it was more then enough for the harsh reality of what she had done to set in. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she made no effort to hide it. That one tear was followed by many more, each seeming to take a little of her pain away. She turned her body on the rough wooden plank seat she was sitting on, drawing her knees up to her chest. She had angled her body toward the rapidly distancing ocean, looking at where the Black Pearl had stood majestically earlier in the day. Now it was gone, and he was gone to, and it was all her fault.

She had done what she thought she needed to do; Jack was being selfish and endangering everyone but only trying to save himself. Kissing him was the only way she had seen that would get him to back against that mast so she could save herself and Will. Her _Will. _She turned her head to face him, where he was sitting with his head in his hands. She watched as shadows of the tall trees on either side of the river they had entered cast dark shadows on his face. She would have to tell him about the fact that she kissed Jack soon, he needed to know. He had never kept anything from her, and she could not keep anything from him.

"You alright love?" His voice was soft, caring; even after everything. He had caught her staring at him. His eyes were full of sadness.

"As good as I can be."

"We will be there soon". His eyes looked haunted with pain.

She managed to drag a weak smile onto her face for him. She needed to be strong for him, not let him see how his words broke her heart. _Love._ Jack used to call her that all the time…before. She never had known if Jack meant what he said to her, or if it was a careless word, just thrown around in the air with no affection behind it at all. She bet Jack had said it to plenty of girls in his lifetime. When Will said it, she could tell that he meant it, because he did not use words lightly. Heavens it had taken him almost 17 years to call her Elizabeth and not Miss Swann. She used to love the feel of the word when Will called her love, like she was immersed in something no one else could understand. But when he had just called her that, she had felt nothing, only sorrow and longing, for that to be someone else's voice saying that to her.

She forced her thoughts away from him. They were completely in the river area now; the open ocean could not be seen. They were on their way to someone's house. Some wise woman jack had know, Tia something…she would find out who she was soon enough anyway. Her thoughts turned to Will. Of course it was Will that she loved, he had saved her twice now, and then she had gone to save him. He was what mattered, now and before; not Jack. Will was a good man. She had chosen to be with him before, and she would be with him always. She hated how commodore Norrington had brought up that she was on her second fiancé now. She had never even loved him! And she was certainly not thinking of Jack that time on the Black Pearl. Well, not a lot anyway. It was the right thing to love Will, besides Jack was gone. But if it were so right, why did her thoughts keep circling back to Jack?

"_As captain I can perform weddings…on this ship…one this very deck…I could perform one…say right now."_

She had laughed in his face when he had said that. She certainly did not want to marry him. She didn't no what to think about him either though. He was just Jack. No wait; he was _Captain_ Jack, captain of the Black Pearl, and kisser extraordinaire.

That kiss. The only way that she could think of to save them, and herself, had been to kiss him. And kiss him she did, she had never meant for it to go on as long as it did, she just wanted to get him against that mast. Her plan had been kiss and handcuff, not kiss for a minute then handcuff. When she had kissed him, she felt entirely new emotions woken up inside; all pleasure. Ending the Kiss and chaining him to that mast was the hardest thing she had ever done.

"_Pirate."_

Again it came out as a whisper this time imitating his last word to her. When he had said it, it had been the hardest thing she had ever had to hear. It felt like she got the wind knocked out of her. But this time it did not hit her like a slap in the face. She had already known, deep down inside that she was one. When he had called her a pirate, it was hard for her not to unchain him and prove him wrong. The worst had been how he said it; with a smile on his face. It was a taunt, something that he had known for a long time before he forced her to think about it. Fresh tears coursed down her face, eventually hitting the wooden bottom of the boat below.

"_We are a lot alike you and I"_

His voice came back to her now, from that day on the ship. They were a lot alike he was right. They were pirates. They both thought only of themselves and condemned others. Jack had condemned Will, and she in turn had Condemned Jack. Both had done it to save themselves. They also were dishonest; Jack getting himself out of every problem, while she stole papers to free herself and Will, the dishonest way. He was right. She was a Pirate as much as he was. But did that make it okay to feel the way she did when he had kissed her?

Wait, Jack couldn't be selfish because he had come back. She had seen him, rowing away from the pearl in the last moments. That had been selfishness had it not? He had abandoned them to save herself. But he had come back, she had grabbed his boot. Had he come back to save the pearl, or them?

_Or me? _She thought. She was so confused.

"_Sorry darling…it could never work between us."_

Again Jacks voice from the past. Those words were the most honest thing that he had ever said to her. He might have said it over a year ago, but it was as fresh in her memory as always. She lifted her chin from where it had come to rest against her knees. She couldn't be confused. He was right. It would never have worked between them; they were too much alike, both to selfish to make it work. Both to much of a Pirate. How could she have thought there could have been more? The kiss was a one time thing, something that had to be done. She was feeling regret, nothing else over losing him. Why he had come back would always be a mystery. But it was something she was willing to live with. Say what he might Jack Sparrow was a good man at heart. She kissed him to save Will, to save herself.

She belonged with Will, now and forever. He was a better man then Jack. They were enough alike to make it work, but different enough to balance each other out. How could she have doubted him? One kiss should not change her entire feelings, and it hadn't. She had just been confused. Jack had been playing games with her head even in death.

Her hand pushed away her tears, as she got up from her place in the boat careful not to rock it. There was an empty seat beside Will and that was where she belonged. She sat down beside him and sought his fingerse out with hers. She belonged here. With him for the rest of her life.

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Authors notes: my first attempted at fanfiction. I had a plot bunny refuse to leave me alone after i saw DMC. Its a great movie...if you haven't seen it already then GO!.


	2. Will

Disclaimer: None of its Mine. It all belongs to Disney

Authors Notes: So now we have part 2 in the Condemned Trilogy as I have decided. It will be three 'missing moments' of sorts, basically where the characters reflect on what has happened and what will happen ( the next one). The last installment will be split between a Will/ Elizabeth point of view.

Will refused to look back at where the Pearl had stood majestically mere hours earlier.

Instead he buried his head in his hands and refused to think of that moment when his life became more complicated. Like it was not complicated enough. Instead Will had a new policy on life. Look ahead and not behind. Right now ahead was Tia Dalmas; and she scared him a lot, but the past and what he might lose scared him more.

It was all Jack Sparrows fault.

It was always his fault. His father being on the Flying Dutchman for eternity, that was Jacks fault to begin with. Bootstrap had stood up for him when the rest of the crew had a mutiny; so the crew sunk him to the bottom of the ocean. All because his father thought Jack was good man and deserved a chance. Hah. A small part of Will knew it was his fault to. His father had helped him find where the key was at the cost of an eternity on the Dutchman instead of just 100 years; but at least he had sworn an oath to get his father off that ship by piercing Davy Jones' heart. And he almost had to. But Jack of course had stopped him. He was more worried about saving his own arse from the Kraken while Will had already faced it multiple times, to save Elizabeth. No Jack said he needed the heart working, while it would better off have been pierced by a sword. Now bloody Norrington had the heart which he would give to the East India Trading Company and get his life back. Then there would be no need to free Will or Elizabeth so they would be hunted down like Pirates. Again, that would be Jacks fault. Jack sparrow was a pirate, plain in simple; he looted and plundered everything that was precious to other people including freedom and love.

Pirate.

Jack had finally taken the one thing that Will loved most. Elizabeth. No Jack couldn't be content with almost getting him killed, getting his father on the Flying Dutchman and taking away their chance at freedom; he had to take Elizabeth too.

Will didn't even know how it had happened either. One second Elizabeth had been running up to him on the Island where Davy Jones' heart was and kissing him passionately and hearing Jack say that everything he had told her so far was basically a lie; the next she had been kissing Jack before the pearl went down. Something had probably happened on the Pearl while he was on the Dutchman. He wondered how long she had been on the Pearl with Jack. Alone. It had to be a good while that she was on the Pearl with him. Will knew what it was like, being on the pearl, you came to trust the man, believe that he could get out of any situation. Elizabeth must have thought more of him then that. The thought disgusted him. What he didn't understand was how Elizabeth could love that…pirate. Jack was a selfish, plundering thief.

"_After all he is only a blacksmith"_

"_No…he is a pirate"_

Will grimaced as he remembered Elizabeth's words to her father in Port Royal all those months ago. She had called him a pirate and at the time he had agreed. He supposed he was more pirate like now, but he still had a thing against killing innocents and being overly selfish.

He still didn't understand why Jack had stayed behind on the ship. Gibbs thought the honest streak had won out in him, Elizabeth was quiet about it. But Will didn't understand. Jack was a selfish man, he wouldn't give up his life to save others, he had shown that he had no problem condemning Will onto the Dutchman for 100 years. The one thing he had come to expect from Jack was the fact that he put himself before everyone else.

"_Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt"_

He remembered those foolish words he had uttered. Like Jack would actually care if he lived or died as long as he had the key. Jack had wanted one of two things, that key or his debt to be paid. In the end those words had gotten him off the Dutchman alive but that was more his fathers fault then Jacks. His father had helped him escape and in return he would get his father off that ship. It was the father he barley remembered, yet he showed more loyalty to him then Jack, Elizabeth or any other pirate showed to anyone else.

Elizabeth had not showed much loyalty to anyone lately, she had taken on some more pirates qualities while she had been away from him. It was likely Jacks influence that caused that. Like when she kissed Jack and pushed him backwards against the mast so that he wouldn't see her. He must admit, she had bad sneaking abilities, but it hurt that she didn't care about him the same way anymore.

Wait…the mast. He felt as though there was something that he should remember about that mast. Something attached to it. What was it…he could feel the word on the tip of his tongue.

"Handcuffs" he breathed.

The mast had handcuffs attached to it! No wonder that Jack didn't come down with them. He wasn't being bloody noble, he was chained up! Elizabeth must have distracted him with a kiss that she knew he would take and pushed him against the mast and chained his wrist. He lifted his head up and smiled. Elizabeth did not love Jack; she was simply saving all of them from the kraken and Jacks selfishness. The Kraken was not after them, it was after Jack. He was wrong, she hadn't changed.

Will looked around the little row boat that they were floating in and caught Elizabeth looking at him.

"You alright love?" He asked softly.

"As good as I can be." She threw him a weak smile.

He turned away from her again and back to his thoughts. Elizabeth was a good person, not the strumpet that he had thought she was just minutes previously. She must be dealing with a lot; she basically is the reason that Jack was dead. He wanted to hold her, comfort her, and tell her it was alright. But he also wanted her to come to him and tell him what happened. Will suspected he was right about the kiss, but he still needed to hear it from her lips that that was what had happened.

He did not need to hear it right away though he could wait. She had a lot to deal with and now was probably not the time to question her. Instead he would support her.

His mind made up he sat in silence as the river widened. Natives of the island were standing around the edges holding candles. He didn't know if this was because they were lighting the way, or because they were mourning Jack. He doubted it was the second. He felt the boat rock gently and heard a gentle 'thump' beside him of someone sitting down. He didn't look over to see who it was. He did not need to. When he felt the warmness of Elizabeth's fingers close over his, he gave her a gentle squeeze to show that he understood.


	3. An Unanswered Question

Disclaimer: It belongs to the mouse.

Authors notes: So everything I said at the top of the last bit of authors notes; disregard. Its no longer a trilogy, its now a Quartet ( for the time being it seems). This plot bunny just wont leave me alone, so its more chapters for all of ye! Elizabeth and Wills thoughts didn't want to share a chapter so they each get their own; this one will be Wills. I actually tried to plan out this chapter, but my writing has a life of its own it seems. Won't do what I say. So enough of my rambling; away we go!

An Unanswered Question

"Aye." He said bitterly; taking another swig from his mug. He looked down at it disdainfully; he wished it were rum, not whatever it was. Why was it, he mused; that one word could change your life?

Again.

It seemed to Will that the world was always changing before he actually had much time to process or adjust to what was going on. It wasn't fair to him in his mind. He shifted his position on the chair, trying to get comfortable. He was sitting on a rickety little chair in the corner of Tia Dalmas house drinking a mug of…something. Whatever it was it was supposed to sooth the nerves. It wasn't working.

Under 5 hours ago, the Pearl had sunk taking Jack with it, and leaving Will very confused. Under 2 hours ago or so he had figured out that he loved Elizabeth and there was a reason behind what she did, and that she didn't love Jack more then him. He had decided to wait for Elizabeth to talk to him about it, which she still had not. He had also figured out that Jack was responsible for a lot of the dilemmas he seemed to get into in his life.

And an hour ago he was being told that there was a way to get Jack back.

"_If 'der was a way…that you could get him back…woudja do it?"_

At first he thought her a complete nut. There was no way to bring back the dead; everyone knew that. Tia Dalma had just proved that she was as strange as she looked. They had clearly seen Jack be eaten by that monster. And now she thought they could get him back. Of course, she just had to prove that it was possible to bring back the dead by showing them an example.

"_Ye have to sail off the edges of the map, into da worlds end…an' if ye intend to do that, you'll need a captain dat knows those waters."_

Barbossa.

One of the only good things that Jack had ever done was to shoot Barbossa to save Elizabeth. Barbossa was the one man that Will hated more then Jack. The man was far gone off the definition of Pirate. At least some pirates lived by a code, while he was just a vile, thieving man. Barbossa in a way though was responsible for Will and Elizabeth being together, seeing as he was the one who prompted Will to go after what he loved. Only cause Barbossa took what he loved though. He still wasn't happy that the man was back though. He was better off dead in Wills opinion. He slowly unclenched his fist, almost surprised that he just now noticed how his nails were biting into the soft skin of his palm. What he wasn't surprised about was how Barbossa inspired so much rage in him.

What he did not understand was how Barbossa was alive. Although, he should have figured he'd be alive though, when he saw that cursed monkey. He was surprised Jack hadn't put it together, with that monkey living on the ship and all. If that thing was still alive and kicking then Barbossa must be to. There must have been some clause in the curse…something that allowed him to return to life despite it all. No matter how curious he was about how Barbossa got back, Will wouldn't ask him about it. That man had tried to kill him once and he wouldn't put it past him to do it again.

It was going to be a long few months on a ship with him while they went to get Jack.

Will took a large swallow of his drink and grimaced at the taste, again wishing that it was rum. He smiled to himself; his love of rum was quite new and he owed it all to Captain Jack. Jack had introduced him to the drink that Elizabeth called vile during some of their late night talks. Will had rather developed a liking for the drink and wished he had some to dull his senses now. He found life easier when drunk; there were fewer complications.

Will guessed he did owe Jack for that one; rum was something that he loved. He also owed Jack many other things, some not as nice as others. Jack had screwed around with his life like it was careless, something you get many chances at but that was not the case. In some cases the damage was permanent.

For instance the fact that he was here sitting in this very hut when instead he should be enjoying his life, with a newly married bride. They should have been moved into their house by now. They should have had their wedding night. They should have been well respected in their community.

He shook his head. There were so many 'should haves' in his life. Instead they were wanted people, which could not return to their own house or their old lives. Now they were as good as wanted pirates, all for the fact that he believed Jack Sparrow to be a good man at the time and had saved his life.

In a way he guessed he should be glad to be going on this voyage. It wasn't as if they could return home and pretend everything was good again. If they did they would surely be arrested faster then you can say 'Captain Jack Sparrow'. They really had no choice in the matter; it just seemed easier to go along with things now.

But did he really want Jack back in his life?

He couldn't really think of a good reason to get Jack back. Sure life would be a lot more normal, boring and less adventurous, but that was what he wanted right? To settle down with Elizabeth obviously not in Port Royal since that option wasn't open to them anymore. Perhaps they could move up to the colonies, or back to England; after all they was where his family was from originally. That was what he eventually wanted, but he was young still, one more adventure wouldn't hurt him or Elizabeth hopefully. Right now it seemed like it was a good thing to do, although at some point in the journey that lay ahead of them he suspected that he would often curse Jacks name. There was one good reason he wanted Jack back; and it wasn't so he could thank him for everything he had done over the years, it was because he owed Jack something.

Payback.

He owed Jack quite a bit; he had been adding it up in his head. So far the last two years had proceeded in: Almost getting him killed all for a bloody ship; Giving his soul to Davy Jones for 100 years instead of paying for his own mistakes; Using both him and Elizabeth for his own gain and of course he was the reason to begin with that Bootstrap was on the Flying Dutchman. Oh yeah, he owed Jack.

He originally thought that Jack deserved death. For a while he really truly had. Until he thought of all the people that wanted to get some form of payback on Jack. In Will's mind it would be better for Jack to be alive. After all what goes around comes around; and Jack had a lot of it coming. He hoped that Jack realized that Payback was a bitch, and he was about to see it rear its ugly head.

Speaking of Payback, he guessed that the world had already in a way taken some payback on Jacks life. Not only was he killed by the kraken, he died with the knowledge that beloved Pearl was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean as well. The pearl was high on Jack priorities list, right after him.

Will placed his mug down on the dirty wooden floor beside his chair and stood up and stretched. He walked past Gibbs and Elizabeth who were conversing quietly in the corner and went outside; feeling as if he needed a breath of fresh air. Will strolled down the steps to lean against the railing that separated land from river. He stared at the boat absently for a long moment before realizing that something was glinting in the moonlight at the bottom of the boat. He squinted at it for a moment before making his was down the creaky old wooden steps that felt like they would fall through at any moment. Climbing into the boat; he realized that his shadow blocked the moonlight from hitting whatever metal it had hit. He groped blindly around the bottom of the boat searching for whatever it was. His fingers passed over smooth glass and then closed around a small box with metal engravings.

He sat back and flipped open the box. Realizing with a dropping stomach what it was. Jack's compass. And the glass no doubt was Jack dirt.

"_We need to abandon ship!" He had shouted frantically earlier that day. The Kraken would attack any second._

"_We can't there are no boats!" Elizabeth had shouted back equally as frantically. _

The dropping sensation in his stomach had stopped, now replaced by a gut clenching sensation.

"_We've killed it!" one of the few remaining crewman had shouted._

"_No…we've only made it angry." Gibbs said grimly. _

"_We need to abandon the pearl" Jack said quietly._

Will closed his eyes, praying what he thought was true wasn't. How had a boat somehow materialized in the space of half an hour? It couldn't have. He had seen all the splintery remains of the boats that one of the Krakens tentacles had fallen on. The only way a boat could have been found was if someone had left the pearl before all the boats were destroyed and then returned for some reason.

Will thought frantically back to when they were waging war on the Kraken. All crewmembers he could remember seeing at one point or another except for…

_Jack._

He closed his eyes. Jack had left the Pearl in selfishness; deserting the crew to deal with the mess he created while he escaped. So there was some reason that Jack had returned to the Pearl. It wasn't to get Davy Jones' heart, because that wasn't on the Pearl to begin with. It wasn't to go down with the ship, he knew that. Otherwise he would not have been prepared to leave so soon again with them after they set the Kraken afire. He had only stayed because of Elizabeth chaining him to the mast. There was something or someone that Jack had intended to save or get off the pearl before leaving it forever and he had obviously had that before Elizabeth turned on him.

He wondered what it was while he stared blindly at the compass. The compass! Jack had said it pointed at what he wanted to know most had he not? And Will wanted to know the reason of why Jack had returned. He watched the compass dials turn around and around until they finally stopped; not pointing at Elizabeth as he had half expected, but in some unknown direction. He sat confused for a while until it became clear.

It wasn't pointing at the _answer _of the question he had, it was pointing to the location of _Jack._ Wills heart knew what he wanted better then he did; he wanted to ask Jack himself what it was that made him stay, and make him explain it to him. He wanted his question answered.

He lurched out of the boat, leaving it harmlessly bobbing in the water. He raced up the wooden steps to Tia's and threw open the door with a bang. The sooner they left the better; as who knew how long the compass would point towards this?

He looked at Barbossa who was sitting at the table.

"Captain I have our heading".


	4. Live Each Day

Disclaimer: its not mine...I wish it were. Stupid mouse owns it.

Authors notes: Not what i expected it to turn out like. Takes place a few weeks after the end of the movie.

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"Jack Sparrow." She mumbled slurring the words. It came out more like 'Jackkkkk Spawoah'

No, it was Cap'n Jack Sparrow; she reminded herself bitterly, raising the bottle to her lips to take another swallow of rum. The bottle was half done, but that did not register in her mind. As the bottle was about to reach her lips the ship she was on lurched in a way that she knew that they had let down the anchor. The force of the ship dropping anchor sent her bouncing off a wall and down to the dirty floor; landing in a pitiful heap. The bottle flew from her hands, smashing harmlessly at her feet, spilling the remaining rum everywhere.

She pulled herself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall. Her eyes found the trail the rum was making as it dribbled down the dirty floor; her face contorting into a grimace. For a moment she couldn't remember why she was drinking the rum to begin with but then it came back. She had thought the rum would calm her, but instead it only made her angry at Jack for doing this to her. In her mind it was Jacks fault that she was the drunken mess she was now. It was his fault because he was infuriating, and he confused the hell out of her. The tears started to stain her cheeks and she made no effort to stop them; letting them come. They seemed to be coming quite a bit lately and every time because of him.

She didn't want him back.

Here she was, not wanting a thing to do with Jack, yet on her way to save him. They were on the _Ghost_. It was Barbossa's ship of choice for the journey. Well, everyone else was above deck, yet she was sitting here in the poorly lit galley feeling sorry for her. It seemed every time she swore she was done with pirates another quest or adventure popped up.

God only knew why she had agreed to go after him with everyone else. Maybe it was because Will was going; maybe it was the thrill of another adventure; perhaps because she felt guilty about leaving him stranded on the Pearl; or maybe it was because some part of her wanted him back. She snorted softly; she didn't want him back she was sure of that. In her head she knew he didn't need to be back in her life, it was easier without him; and that she was perfectly happy. Trying telling her heart that though.

It was all well and good for her to say she didn't care about him at all when she thought he was dead. Death seemed to simplify things she found; it gave you fewer options to choose from and you could trick your mind to believe one thing when really your heart believed another. Jack being dead meant that logically she had to love Will, seeing as it was pointless to love Jack in death. She was sure that everything with Jack had been meaningless, now she didn't know. She had convinced herself of that she didn't love Jack; and a few weeks ago she had been perfectly happy to accept that she belonged with Will.

Now though, she had to face the very real possibility that he was coming back again.

She didn't want to face it though. That was why she was down in the galley drowning her sorrows with rum, to avoid a decision. She smiled bitterly to herself in the gloomy darkness; it seemed even in death or whatever it was; that she could not escape Jacks influence on her life. If she accepted that he was back, then she would have more options; options such as choosing Jack or Will.

Before death had made a choice for her, she just had to accept it.

And accept it she had; until now that is. Know she did not know what she wanted. Her mind told her that she wanted Will; he could support her, wouldn't leave her and loved her and be faithful. He was a good man. Most of her heart agreed with her head to, except for a small part of her that wanted Jack. She didn't know why seeing as he was a cheating vile thief but most of all a pirate. Jack well…Jack had his whores. He would leave her without a second thought, without regret; so why did she want that?

She didn't know.

If it came right down to it, she was scared, scared of Captain Jack Sparrow. She was scared of how she felt around him; acted around him. It was like her head had taken a holiday and left the rest of her body to do the thinking with hormones. She was scared that she liked him more then Will; that she would choose Jack over him.

"_You'll come around…you know why? Because of curiosity."_

That was when it had started when they had talked about curiosity on the pearl. He had made her curious, she hated to admit and she hadn't stopped thinking about him completely since then. She was curious about his life, but that did not mean that she wanted him. It seemed the more time she had spent with Jack on the Pearl; the more she came to trust him.

She hit her fist on the ground, not doing any damage to the ship but instead to her hand. He made her so angry; angry that she felt this way about him. She didn't want to. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be married by now! Not on another bloody pirate ship. She should have been in her new house, been attending fancy dinner parties with Will; taking care of a household.

"_Remember that you robbed me of my wedding night."_

The words that she had stated so calmly to the Lord came back to her now. At the time they had been meaningless words, said in the heat of the moment to get the man to sign the letters of mark. Now they held meaning. She wondered what would have happened had her and Will had her wedding night; if they had been dragged into this adventure a day later. Surely she would be blissfully in love with Will, too enamored to see Jacks charm. Elizabeth bet that she wouldn't have fallen for Jacks charm if things had started a day later. Or if they had not been arrested at all.

Getting arrested had changed her. In their first adventure on the Pearl, she had thought that she was better then the pirates; oh Elizabeth would not have admitted it, but she did. She carried herself and treated them in a way that showed that she thought them lower then her. Being arrested had made her realize that perhaps they weren't so different. Pirates were men who had no other choice in life really, they wanted their freedom as much as the next man and just had to go by other means of obtaining it. She had obtained her freedom to, just not legally. She had got hers by holding a man at gunpoint. Elizabeth had escaped from prison, found Jack, sailed on two ships; all to find Will. The experience had changed her.

She had become a Pirate.

She admitted it now. She did not know if she wanted a quite life anymore. In fact she found it downright thrilling to be reveling in her freedom knowing that there were people in Port Royal who would kill her. She got a rush from helping the crew, who she actually found to be quite civilized. They were as ordinary as her, not the mangy pirates she had thought of them originally.

She thought that if she ever did settle, it would have to be near an ocean. She was different, she craved the adventure now. She just did not want to be on the adventure that she was currently in.

It was bad enough going to find Jack and becoming confused again, but it was far worse knowing that it was Barbossa who would bring them to Jack. Barbossa disgusted her; he went against the Pirates code. Most had morals, but he had none. She refused to be alone with the man as she didn't trust him. He had almost been responsible for her death once; but it wouldn't be twice.

Will on the other hand was always with Barbossa it seemed. Last she had checked they were talking in hushed tones up at the helm. Will was currently navigating for them with Jacks compass. For some reason the compass pointed at Jack. What Elizabeth did not understand was why would the thing that Will wanted most be Jack?

Maybe Jack was right and he was a Eunuch.

She laughed softly to herself, knowing even as she thought it that it wasn't true. If he was her choice would be a lot easier to make. Will had asked her why she had agreed to find Jack; she hoped not out of suspicion about the kiss (which he surprisingly had not talked to her about). She had replied that she wanted some questions answered, and she did. She wanted to know why he came back.

She sighed; a pounding headache would soon be setting in but for now she could feel the rum she had consumed wearing off. She had found it easier to think when she was drunk, the thoughts came easier into her mind and she did not over analyze everything. Maybe she was developing a love for the drink that she had formerly thought vile.

Speaking of things being vile, James Norrington had surprised them all. She had always thought him to be an upstanding respectable man. Sure he was not in the best of shape when Elizabeth had met him in Tortuga all those weeks ago. He had lost his job, his home and his dignity, but yet she pitied him and helped him out…after knocking him out that was. He had even sacrificed himself on the island to save all of them, or so they thought.

Word had reached their ship about him when they had landed in Tortuga to stock up on supplies. Word was they he had somehow managed to get off that god forsaken island and had gotten back to Lord Beckett with the heart. Rumor had it that he now had his old life back. She despised that man now she had not known him to be so selfish. She also had not thought that he would sink so low as to turn on them all.

"James Norrington has become a vile man."

"I agree" A voice boomed out of the darkness; one that she recognized instantly.

"Will, why are you down here?" she managed to stand up and not slur her words.

"Came to bring you up onto deck." He answered.

She walked towards him in the darkness, to where he stood silhouetted in the dimly lit doorway. He turned to allow her past so she could go up the stairs first. She tried to make it up the stairs as steadily as she could without betraying that she had been drinking. She didn't feel comfortable with him knowing that for some reason.

Well, Elizabeth figured, musing to herself once again. Since I'm a pirate I might as well abide by their code. A large part of the pirates code was to live each day as your last, and look ahead to today, not to tomorrow. She simply wouldn't think of the future until she had to. Who knows; she might not even feel the same way about Jack when she saw him again. Hell, she knew she liked Will a lot right now, so why bother bringing Jack in to complicated things until it were necessary?

She wasn't happy with life, not by a long shot. Living each day for the day seemed the best solution she could come up with. And if she happened to like Jack when they found him, then she would sort out her feelings then. If she chose him over Will, then she owed Will to have a long talk about why she would do that. If she chose Will over Jack, then she would not talk to Jack. He could always go back to his whores.

She would take it one day at a time; all she knew for sure right now was that fate had a cruel way of playing games with her life and that she didn't like it.

The world was cruel.

Emotions to her were worse.

888

More authors notes: So this isnt what I expected out of this, but this is what i got. Its the longest chapter of them all, I hope you guys like it.More one shots are on the way, but none will be related to Condemned.

Thanks to all the reviews so far, I love you all! If you havent reviewed yet, don't be shy! Review review!


	5. James

_Notes: _Ya I know I said I was done Condemned. But now, its not a quartet anymore...its a quintet as I believe it is called. So this was supposed to be a stand alone one shot, but it just fit so well with the Condemned theme so its part of it now. If you've read my chapter story _Saving Sparrow _then do not try to figure out how this one shot/chapter thing fits into it. It doesnt.This is more of a stand alone but as I said, it fit with the Theme.

Its from Norringtons point of view, I hope you like it! Oh, and Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, your the best!

**Reviews make my day.**

_oOoOoOo_

_My Dearest Giselle,_

_So much has happened since the last time I wrote you, in fact so much has happened that I won't even explain everything. I will just give you the main highlights; explaining everything would take up to much parchment.-_

Newly re-instated Commodore James Norrington of the East India Trading Company looked up from what he had written so far. He looked around at his lavish surroundings. _So much has happened, this is true. I never thought that I would be back here again in my life._

He was sitting in his old house that he had just recently moved back into. Lord Beckett had been most accommodating when he realized that James was in fact giving him Davy Jones' heart. A few hours later he had been back in his old house, with his old title and a nice bag of gold. _I just prefer not to think of what lengths I went to, to get my life back. _He turned his attention back to the letter.

_-In the past 6 months or so I had been stripped of my Commodore ranking and been tossed out onto the street like some lowly peasant. It was all for allowing that Jack Sparrow fellow I wrote to you about before escape. One of the only nice things that I do for that man turns out to be the thing to ruin my life. I had to 'resign' as they put it from Commodore; firing would really be a more accurate word. _

_Governor Swann, whose daughter I was once betrothed to marry, was the one to fire me. How a fool like that ever got into a position of power was a mystery to me. I never did like him. Anyways after I was evicted from Port Royal, I eventually ended up in Tortuga for a few weeks. I stopped in to see you one night, but the mistress of the house told me you were out. I offered to wait until you returned but she wouldn't have it.-_

He chuckled to himself. _Wouldn't have it indeed. She told me to buy someone for the night or to get the hell out of her house. I had no money to buy some whore, so out it was. It's a shame I did not get to see her though, I miss my old friend. _He grimaced; even if he was only stopping by because he needed a place to sleep and was only saying that he had not seen her for a while as an excuse.

He thought back to the days he saw her on a daily basis; back when they were children. They had been neighbors in a more respectable area of Tortuga; away from the docks and bars. Their mothers had worked together as laundresses for some of the lords that lived on Tortuga and often had not had time for their children. They had often played together and soon became best friends. He remembered fondly their games of navy and pirates. He had always been the navy officer.

James' mother had eventually saved up enough money for school for James; and thus he remembered being sent away, able only to talk to Giselle via the post. He had not seen her since that day, but received frequent letters from her. Her mother never had saved up enough for her to go to school. She was now forced to work in a less favorable position because of it. He preferred to call her an escort. It seemed much more civil.

He also remembered his mothers parting words to him.

"_You study hard now ye hear? Maybe one day you'll make something of yourself." Her voice had been full of doubt and sadness at seeing her only son leave. _

He had proved her wrong though. He had made something of himself. He had gotten to the top of his career; if only she could see him now. But at what lengths had he gone to get to the top of his career? No he refused to think of that. He again went back to writing his letter.

_-After attempting to visit you, I ended up in a bar in Tortuga. You have to understand I was down in the dumps. I don't normally frequent bars, but this time it was a good thing I did. I found Jack Sparrow at that bar; so I signed up for his crew. My life was not that great and I needed a job. He was hiring so I figured it was the best I could do. _

_Here is where I summarize everything for you. Basically we ran afoul of Davy Jones and ended going after Davy Jones heart. Yes that's right; heart. He had apparently ripped it out of his chest and buried it on an island.-_

He wondered how much he should tell her. He did not want her to be disappointed in his methods that he used to get his life back. He decided only the bare essentials would do.

_- It was the key to controlling him and Lord Beckett really wanted it. We got the heart and I offered to return it to the Lord Beckett seeing as how everyone else was a pirate and could not do it themselves. Upon returning Lord Beckett (of the East India Trading Company) offered me back my title as Commodore and my old house as thanks for giving him a tool that would help apprehend the most dreaded pirate in all the seas._

_But enough about my life. How have you been? Do you finally have enough money to leave the streets of Tortuga? When I stopped by the place you live when I was in Tortuga, the Mistress looked mighty happy. Perhaps she will let you leave the brothel now? You could always come and stay with me you know _

_I miss you,_

_James Norrington_

James sat back and re read the letter. To him it seemed full of gaping holes and it was. There was so much he would not; _could not_ tell her. He wanted her to think of him as an honorable man, not the power hungry man he considered himself to be. _In light of recent events I believe I am power hungry._

There was so much that he would not include. How he had been a filthy drunk for months after being fired, how he had attacked everyone in a bar in Tortuga. How he had been forced to sleep in stables because he could not afford a room. He especially could not tell her about the island, and how he had stolen Davy Jones' heart from Jack, Will and Elizabeth. They had not given it to him as he had said.

By taking the heart, he had control over Davy Jones and Lord Beckett who wanted the heart. He alone would survive. He had tricked them into thinking that he was sacrificing himself to Jones' crew. They had thought they were getting away.

He had heard in Tortuga that the Pearl went down, and that there were no survivors known. He had forced himself to go on, to give the heart to Lord Beckett.

Although Jack, Elizabeth and Will had not been his friends, they had still been people. He had been power hungry enough to leave them there. It was murder. In his eyes it was cold blooded murder for money and power. He was a murderer. But he would survive; he had gotten what he wanted. Maybe one day it would hurt less to think about what he had done; but for now…

A single tear trickled down his cheek as he stared at the letter he had written.

He had known they would die if he took the heart.

Had had Condemned them.

oOoOoOo

Notes: Its done its done! So i hope you all liked that, and it is the actual end of Condemned this time. If you liked Condemned, then try reading my new chapter story _Saving Sparrow _which begins right where _chapter 4( after Elizabeth gets drunk) _leaves off.

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